Blackstone Charitable Foundation

Cultivating Entrepreneurship, Igniting Job Growth

Who We Are

Founded in 2007, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation is committed to inspiring entrepreneurship globally. By leveraging the resources and intellectual capital of Blackstone, the Foundation empowers entrepreneurs, generates job growth, and supports the communities in which we live and work.

COMMITTED TO OUR

Entrepreneurship Initiative

In 2010, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation announced its Entrepreneurship Initiative, a global commitment to advance entrepreneurial thought and activity in the United States and abroad. Through Blackstone LaunchPad, Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network, Blackstone Inclusive Entrepreneurship Challenge, and Blackstone Innovation Grants, the Foundation encourages and empowers the entrepreneurs who create jobs and stimulate economic growth.

COMMITTED TO

Supporting Communities

The Blackstone Charitable Foundation is committed to supporting the communities in which we work and live. Through the Blackstone Connects program and our general Grants & Giving, the Foundation supports organizations dedicated to improving the economic and social conditions of communities in need.

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“From its founding, Blackstone has dedicated itself to being a responsible corporate citizen. Our commitment to corporate responsibility is embedded into every investment decision we make and I take personal pride knowing that the founding principles and values the firm was built on 30 years ago still govern us today.”

The Case Foundation, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Google for Entrepreneurs and UBS today announced the launch of #FacesofFounders, a new online campaign searching for dynamic entrepreneurs from all backgrounds, and particularly entrepreneurs of color and women founders across America, who are key to driving innovation and job growth in the U.S.

Earlier this month, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation brought its expertise on entrepreneurship to SOCAP16, an event focused on the intersection of capital and social causes. We sat down with Tony Tolentino, Vice President in the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, to discuss the event.

Funding Opportunities

At this time, the Foundation will not consider or accept unsolicited grant proposals, and will not be holding an open Request for Proposals (RFP) this year. To learn more about future opportunities, please follow us on Twitter @BlackstoneEI. For additional questions, not related to funding opportunities, please contact foundation@blackstone.com.

Accion US Network (New York, NY) - $150,000

Our funding will allow Accion US Network, an organization that brings microfinance solutions to small business owners around the country, to create Accion Fast Track – a virtual accelerator for a select group of high-performing entrepreneurs from across their national network.

Coalition for Queens (Queens, NY) - $175,000

Grant will help catalyze low-income entrepreneurship by funding a product development track within Access Code, a program to teach low income, diverse participants how to develop their own custom-built mobile apps.

Cornell Tech (New York, NY) - $200,000

Our funding will allow Cornell Tech, an innovative program that develops pioneering leaders and technologies for the information age, to support Cornell Tech student entrepreneurs through Seed Award Grants.

Launch NY (Buffalo, NY)- $125,000

Our funding will allow Launch NY, a collaboration of major economic development organizations in upstate New York that support high-growth, high-impact companies, to develop the Launch NY Entrepreneur Institute, a program that will strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem by expanding the reach of resources and services available in upstate New York.

LeAp (New York, NY) - $60,000

Seeds of Peace (New York, NY/Middle East) - $50,000

Our funding will allow Seeds of Peace, a non-profit that helps teenagers form regions of conflict learn the skills of making peace, to pilot its Seed Fellows Program, an incubator for social entrepreneurs from the Middle East and South Asia.

Venture for America (New York, NY) - $200,000

Our funding will allow Venture for America, an organization that recruits fellows to work for two years at emerging start-ups in lower-cost cities, to build the VFA Accelerator, a business plan development curriculum and training for its 2012 and 2013 fellows.

Enterprise Institute (Brookings, SD) - $100,000

Our funding will allow Enterprise Institute, a non-profit that provides customized business development to start-up companies in South Dakota, to create an accelerator program to support South Dakota’s aspiring entrepreneurs.

Idea Village - $100,000

Grant will fund Idea Village’s New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week in March 2016, a unique festival experience that celebrates and elevates the New Orleans entrepreneurial ecosystem through a week of entrepreneurship focused programming.

4.0 Schools - $200,000

Grant will support expansion of 4.0's Communities of Innovation program to 10 local ecosystems across the US and expand capacity and diversity of 4.0's entrepreneurship training program for leaders creating breakthrough schools, learning spaces and education technology companies.

Launch Tennessee - $75,000

Grant will fund Launch Tennessee’s 36 | 86 conference in June 2016, which brings together top talent from across the south to further the conversation about entrepreneurship, investment and culture, and to identify and highlight some of the top early stage companies throughout a 12 state SE region.

Social Enterprise Greenhouse - $200,000

Our funding will allow Social Enterprise Greenhouse, a network of business and community leaders, and the Founders League to engage students from across the state’s university and colleges, and connect them to Rhode Island’s startup ecosystem.

UP Global - $200,000

Our funding will enable UP Global, a global organization dedicated to providing resources and programs for entrepreneurs, to bring the spring edition of “Global Startup Battle” to over 50 communities and to host an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Symposium.

Energy Excelerator - $100,000

Our funding will allow Energy Excelerator, an accelerator program that helps start-ups solve the world’s energy challenges, to build a pipeline of companies and entrepreneurs in the energy sector through events and other ecosystem support activities.

MaroonX Accelerator - $200,000

Our funding will allow Mississippi State University & Texas A&M to pilot the Blackstone MaroonX Accelerator, a program that will support startups in rural areas, better positioning them for national accelerators and funding opportunities.

Tumml - $175,000

Our funding will allow Tumml, an urban impact
accelerator supporting early stage companies developing
innovative consumer products and services, to host the
Blackstone Urban Impact Entrepreneurship Summit, a
premier convening for urban innovation that will serve
as a major recruitment and outreach event in the
region.

Black Founders - $100,000

Our funding will enable Black Founders, an organization
dedicated to increasing the number of successful black
entrepreneurs in technology, to conduct a series of
hack-a-thons at HBCUs, providing students with the
training needed to explore careers in technology.

TEDWomen - $200,000

Grant will fund TEDWomen in October 2016, which will
gather some of the world’s most insightful and
influential women to celebrate the vital ideas
percolating through their dynamic and diverse
communities. Through Blackstone Charitable
Foundation’s support, TEDWomen 2016 will offer
structured opportunities for female entrepreneurs and
game-changers to meet, learn and share.

BUILD (Redwood City, CA) - $100,000

Our funding will allow BUILD, an organization that teaches entrepreneurship to propel high-risk students to college success, to launch the Blackstone School-Based Innovation Incubator program at two schools in Washington, DC to pilot this program to expand entrepreneurship opportunities for disadvantaged students.

NESsT (San Francisco, CA)- $150,000

Our funding will allow NESsT, an organization that supports enterprises serving vulnerable communities to replicate its successful University Social Entrepreneurship Program in Peru to Brazil. This program will incubate a pipeline of high-impact social businesses in partnership with universities and their student entrepreneurs.

Pacific Community Ventures (San Francisco, CA) - $100,000

Our funding will allow PCV to pilot its Remote Business Advising Platform, an automated version of PCV’s successful program, which will make high-quality, customized, industry and discipline-specific support available to entrepreneurs across the country.

StartX (Palo Alto, CA) - $100,000

Our funding will allow StartX to link (and ultimately expand) its successful startup accelerator program and network in Silicon Valley with the entrepreneurial academic hubs of New York, Boston, and the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.

Our funding will allow UC Hasting College’s Institute for Innovation Law to create a program that will allow law students to provide free legal support and services to technology entrepreneurs in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, focusing on traditionally underserved minority and female technology entrepreneurs.

SEED SPOT - $100,000

Our funding will allow SEED SPOT, an incubator that supports early state social entrepreneurs, to expand its successful accelerator model to the Latino community through targeted recruitment and marketing efforts.

Arizona State University: Area48 (Tempe, Arizona) - $145,000

Our funding will allow ASU to pilot a new model to educate and support early stage entrepreneurs by targeting non-traditional populations including retirees, military, veterans and defense (MDV), and recently unemployed yet highly skilled workers.

Telluride Venture Accelerator - $125,000

Our funding will allow the Telluride Foundation, which supports the Telluride community through grants and programming, to refine and grow the accelerator’s mentor program to create meaningful relationships between the mentors and companies.

MaroonX Accelerator - $200,000

Our funding will allow Mississippi State University & Texas A&M
to pilot the Blackstone MaroonX Accelerator, a program that will support
startups in rural areas, better positioning them for national accelerators
and funding opportunities.

Rice University (Houston, TX) - $50,000

Our funding will allow the Rice University Startup Accelerator, OwlSpark, to launch the National University Accelerator Network, which will connect university-based accelerators, share best practices, link university-based startups and mentor and investor networks across the country.

Village Capital - $250,000

Grant will fund the Village Capital Energy: US 2016 program, a three month venture development program that will find, train, and fund US-based entrepreneurs solving major energy problems nationally and globally through a unique peer-selection methodology.

The Aspen Institute (Washington, DC) - $125,000

Our funding will allow the Aspen Institute’s Partners for a New Beginning, a program that advances economic opportunity in the Middle East and North Africa in the areas of entrepreneurship, education and innovation, to host a week-long delegation in New York City and San Francisco/Silicon Valley in October 2014 that will bring together seasoned US and Middle Eastern and North African entrepreneurs.

Social Innovation Summit - $75,000

Grant will fund the Social Innovation Summit in June 2016, which brings together cross-sector entrepreneurs and leaders to come together to investigate solutions for the world’s most pressing problems and to catalyze inspired partnerships.

United Negro College Fund (Washington, DC) - $160,000

Our funding will allow UNCF to expand the scope and delivery of its education around entrepreneurship and expose more African American students to entrepreneurship as a career option across its 38 colleges and universities.

Rising Tide Capital - $200,000

Grant will fund the programming
and expansion of the Start Something Challenge - a statewide initiative
across New Jersey that teaches entrepreneurship to business owners through a yearlong
interactive program focused on the power of technology, social media and marketing.

Penn Medicine and DreamIt Ventures - $325,000

Grant
will fund the Dreamit Health Philadelphia 2016 program. In this cohort, Dreamit will
partner with Penn Medicine and Independence Blue Cross to reimagine and expand a
world class health care entrepreneurship program.

Mass Challenge - $75,000

Grant will support the MassChallenge
Awards in November 2016, an event which brings together key stakeholders and top
entrepreneurs at the conclusion of the 4-month accelerator program to share best practices
and pitch their companies for $1.5 million in no-equity cash awards.

One Hen, Inc. (Boston, MA) - $50,000

Our funding will allow One Hen, an organization that teaches entrepreneurship to elementary school children, to strengthen its online student entrepreneurial community by building the open source Blackstone Charitable Foundation Youth Entrepreneurship Resource Library on its new website.

Iowa Startup Accelerator - $150,000

Grant will fund the next iteration of Iowa Startup Accelerator, an intensive program that matches tech-based startups, with world-class mentors, Midwestern work ethic, seed funding, and development expertise to take entrepreneurs from concept to successful launch in 90 days.

Points of Light (Atlanta, GA) - $100,000

Our funding will allow Points of Light’s Civic Accelerator (“CivicX”), a national program that inspires, equips and mobilizes entrepreneurs, to pilot a regionally-focused accelerator in Atlanta, Georgia.

Moneythink (Chicago, IL) - $50,000

Our funding will allow Moneythink, an organization that trains college volunteers to mentor youth in low-income communities, to scale its entrepreneurship program to Los Angeles and New England by hiring a Chief Innovation Officer to expand its technology system.

BioSTL (St. Louis, MO) - $100,000

Our funding will allow BioSTL, an organization that seeks to advance regional prosperity in St. Louis, to expand the scope of its Bioscience Inclusion Initiative by identifying high-potential women and minority bioscience entrepreneurs and providing a systematic pathway for them to create viable high-growth ventures.

Jumpstart (Cleveland, OH) - $170,000

Our funding will allow JumpStart to develop a “toolkit” of programs and strategies to assist regions engage and support minority and other underserved populations, and to pilot the toolkit with partners in three select regions -- Atlanta, Memphis, and St. Louis.

Ashoka (London, UK) - $75,000

Our grant will fund Ashoka’s Change Maker Summit in November 2016, which convenes world class social entrepreneurs for a two day conference in the UK to share best practices, showcase entrepreneurs global impact and strengthen the Ashoka community of social entrepreneurs and supporters.

Bethnal Green Ventures (London, UK) - $150,000

Our funding will allow Bethnal Green Ventures, a technology-focused accelerator program, to build a robust support program for the graduates of its accelerator program for high growth social technology entrepreneurs in the UK.

MyBnk (London, UK) - $100,000

Our funding will allow MyBnk, a non-profit that delivers financial education and enterprise directly to 11-25 year olds in schools, to develop and pilot Business Battle Plus, a program that will provide students the opportunity to run a real business to test their entrepreneurial skills.

African Leadership Academy (Johannesburg, South Africa) - $150,000

Our funding will allow African Leadership Academy, a pan-African secondary institution that aims to educate and develop outstanding students into principled ethical leaders for Africa, to pilot entrepreneurial training camps across Africa to allow young people to design and lead ventures.

TechnoServe (Mumbai, India) - $150,000

Our funding will allow TechnoServe, an international NGO that works in developing countries to help people build competitive farms and businesses, to pilot an accelerator program for women entrepreneurs in Mumbai, India.

In 2014, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation made a three-year, $3.5 million grant to Southern California. The grant established a partnership between The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), The University of Southern California (USC), and The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), enabling these universities and institutions to connect campus entrepreneurs with the Southern California business community.

In 2012, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation brought the Blackstone LaunchPad program to the University of Montana and Montana State University with a three-year, $2 million grant. The grant made Blackstone LaunchPad accessible to over 30,000 college students across the state.

In 2012, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation made a three-year, $3 million grant to Pennsylvania. The grant brought the Blackstone LaunchPad Program to Philadelphia University and Temple University, with the University City Science Center serving as a regional partner.

In 2013, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation made a $1.4 million grant to Central Florida, establishing a partnership between the University of Central Florida and the University of Miami. Through this partnership, the University of Central Florida and the University of Miami will be able to connect campus entrepreneurs to the resources and mentors needed to transform their ideas into viable enterprises.

In 2015, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation expanded the Blackstone LaunchPad program with a three-year, $4.5 million grant to New York State. The grant brought Blackstone LaunchPad to five universities across the state – Cornell University, New York University (NYU), Syracuse University, University at Albany (SUNY) and University at Buffalo (SUNY) – making the program available to over 130,000 students in New York.

In 2016, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation made a three-year, $3 million grant to Texas. The grant established a partnership between Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at Austin, and The University of Texas at Dallas to provide a network of venture coaches and an entrepreneurial support system for the universities’ 130,000 students.

In 2010, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation made a $2 million grant to Michigan in partnership with the New Economy Initiative (NEI) for Southeast Michigan. The grant brought Blackstone LaunchPad to the campuses of Wayne State University to assist aspiring entrepreneurs transform untested ideas into vital businesses.

In 2015, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation made a three-year, €2 million grant to Ireland. The grant established a partnership between National University of Ireland Galway, Trinity College Dublin, and University College Cork in the first international expansion of the Blackstone LaunchPad program.

Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network is an initiative to strengthen existing entrepreneurial ecosystems in struggling areas by building a network of master entrepreneurs and connecting them with a pipeline of potential high growth ventures. Learn More

In 2017, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation made a $3.4 million grant to Chicago to create the Blackstone Inclusive Entrepreneurship Challenge. The BX Challenge provides grant funding to create a cohort of innovative organizations that effectively recruit and support diverse entrepreneurs and scale startups.Learn More

In 2016, our employees donated over 6,600 volunteer hours to their communities around the world

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"The Foundation makes many grants and the firm’s employees give generously of their time in an effort to have an impact on civic and charitable organizations that support our communities."

- STEPHEN A. SCHWARZMAN

CHAIRMAN, CEO & CO-FOUNDER

Blackstone Connects & General Giving

Launched by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Blackstone Connects is a global program that provides Blackstone employees with the opportunity to engage in community service, volunteer projects and non-profit board service. Through this program, over 70% of Blackstone Employees volunteered with Blackstone Connects partners in 2016, totaling over 6,000 volunteer hours and 50 volunteer days. As part of this program, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation also makes targeted grants to non-profit organizations that positively impact the communities where Blackstone employees work and live. Recent partner organizations are listed below:

America Needs You

America Needs You

America Needs You fights for economic mobility for ambitious, first-generation college students. We do this by providing transformative mentorship and intensive career development.

City Harvest

City Harvest

Inner-City Scholarship Fund

Inner-City Scholarship Fund

Inner-City Scholarship Fund (ICSF) changes lives for better by providing families with demonstrable financial need the opportunity to give their children a quality, values-based K-12 Catholic education within the Archdiocese of New York.

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS is the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services.

New York Cares

New York Cares

In the summer of 2011, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, partnered with New York Cares, the city’s leading volunteer organization, to launch our pilot community service program, “Blackstone Connects.”

Project Sunshine

Project Sunshine

Reading Partners

Reading Partners

Reading Partners mobilizes communities to provide students with the proven, individualized reading support they need to read at grade level by fourth grade.

Their program model works and is backed by evidence-based research which proves that our students make significant gains in reading. On average, Reading Partners’ students more than double their rate of learning while in the program.

Year Up

Year Up

Year Up’s mission is to close the opportunity divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education.

Young Women’s Leadership Network

Harlem Village Academies

Harlem Village Academies

We are a community of educators in Harlem, working to revolutionize public education in our nation by building a K-12 public school district and an educators’ institute, based on the ideals of progressive pedagogy.

Private Equity Foundation, UK

Private Equity Foundation, UK

The Private Equity Foundation (PEF) is committed to unlocking the potential of disadvantaged young people. By helping 4 to 24 year olds at home, through school and into the workplace, the charity aims to transform their life chances and drive down the nearly one million young people currently not in education, employment or training.

East Harlem Tutorial Program

East Harlem Tutorial Program

East Harlem Tutorial Program (EHTP) gives kids the opportunities they would have if they were born 20 blocks south. And we’ve been doing it for more than 55 years. We teach reading, math and science, provide one-to-one tutoring, prepare kids for college, help them get accepted, and build the social skills they’ll need to succeed.

KIPP NYC

KIPP NYC

Robert A. Toigo Foundation

Toigo Foundation

For over 20 years, the Toigo Foundation’s mission has been to foster leadership development and accelerated career opportunities for diverse financial professionals. That also means cultivating an industry and work environment where all talent contributes and thrives.

“We are looking for innovative projects and catalytic ideas that can contribute to the economic rebuilding of the nation through entrepreneurship – specifically in regions where talent is strong, ideas are abundant, and our capital can make a real difference spurring job growth.”

- STEPHEN A. SCHWARZMAN

CHAIRMAN, CEO & CO-FOUNDER

Our Team

The Blackstone Charitable Foundation was founded at the time of Blackstone's IPO in 2007 with substantial commitments from the Firm’s employees.

Amy Stursberg

Executive Director

Amy Stursberg serves as Executive Director of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, where she has overseen and led Blackstone’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, bringing four innovative programs to twenty states across the country.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Stursberg served on the transition team for Governor Eliot Spitzer. She also managed the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation’s award of $35 million in cultural enhancement grants and $30 million in community grants in Lower Manhattan. Previously, Ms. Stursberg served as Director of the September 11th Fund and held various positions at the Office of Management and Budget at the Office of the Mayor in the City of New York, as well as at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. She has also served as a university administrator and foundation officer.

Ms. Stursberg received her BA with honors from the University of Michigan and her Master’s in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She was recently appointed to serve on the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE).

Tony Tolentino

Vice President

Tony Tolentino is a Vice President with the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, he has been involved in the implementation of the Foundation's Entrepreneurship Initiative, a philanthropic commitment to create and support targeted regional programs to support entrepreneurs. He also developed the firm’s inaugural community service and volunteer program.

Prior to joining Blackstone, he worked at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency created to help plan and coordinate the rebuilding and revitalization of Lower Manhattan after September 11, where he managed a portfolio of grants to various community and cultural non-profits and city agencies.

Mr. Tolentino received his BA in Urban Studies and Geography from San Francisco State University and his MS in Urban Planning from Columbia University. He is co-head of Out Blackstone, and currently serves on the board of Tumml, an accelerator for early-stage, urban-focused startups.

Alisha Slye

Blackstone LaunchPad Global Director

Alisha Slye serves as Global Director of Blackstone LaunchPad, an innovative campus program that introduces entrepreneurship as a viable career option for students by offering a network of mentors and support resources. Over the past three years, she has lead the strategic global expansion of the program and development of the Blackstone LaunchPad Global Network now accessible on over 19 campuses by 500,000 students. She also supports other Foundation projects and initiatives.

Prior to this role, Ms. Slye served as Regional Director of Blackstone LaunchPad in Pennsylvania. She previously held marketing and business development roles at Deloitte, leading key national programs and initiatives targeting entrepreneurs and emerging and high-growth companies. In addition, she also held roles at Georgetown University and Intelsat.

Ms. Slye received her BA in Psychology and Women Studies from Boston College. She resides outside of Philadelphia, PA.

Tracy MacKenzie

Director

Tracy MacKenzie is a Director with the Blackstone Charitable Foundation.

Since joining Blackstone in 2015, Ms. MacKenzie has overseen the Blackstone Connects program, where she runs nonprofit volunteer and board service programs for employees, as well as the Blackstone Innovation Grants program, a signature program within the Foundation's Entrepreneurship Initiative. Prior to her work at Blackstone, she worked in external relations and development at New Classrooms, an education startup, and at ReWork. She began her career as a middle school teacher through Teach for America in Washington D.C.

Ms. MacKenzie holds a BS from Northwestern University and a Master’s in Education from George Mason University. She currently serves on the Young Partners Board at the Public Theater.

Kate Wood

Coordinator

Board of Directors

Joan Solotar

Foundation Chair & Member of the Board of Directors

Joan Solotar is a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, Head of Multi-Asset Investing and External Relations, and serves on the Management Committee. Ms. Solotar oversees the firm’s Multi-Asset Investing business, which develops and distributes products and services to meet the needs of institutional and high net worth clients. Additionally, she manages global shareholder relations, public affairs, and corporate services.

Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Ms. Solotar was with Bank of America Securities where she was a Managing Director and Head of Equity Research. Prior to joining Bank of America, she was a consistently highly ranked Institutional Investor “All-America Research Team” financial services analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Credit Suisse as a Managing Director.

Ms. Solotar chairs the Board of Directors of Blackstone’s Charitable Foundation. She is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the East Harlem Tutorial Program and the East Harlem Scholars Academies. She is the recent author of a Harvard Business Review article entitled “Truths for our Daughters.”

Ms. Solotar received a BS in Management Information Systems from the State University of New York at Albany and an MBA in Finance from New York University.

John Studzinski

Member of the Board of Directors

John Studzinski is Vice Chairman, Investor Relations and Business Development and a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone where he holds special responsibility for a number of sovereign and international institutional relationships, as well as ultra high-net-worth families outside the United States.

Mr. Studzinski joined Blackstone in 2006 as Global Head of Blackstone Advisory Partners, which he ran for nearly a decade.

A graduate of Bowdoin College, Mr. Studzinski also has an MBA from the University of Chicago. He joined Morgan Stanley in New York in 1980 and since then has spent much of his career in London, where he served as Head of European Investment Banking and Deputy Chairman of Morgan Stanley International before moving to HSBC in 2003 as a member of the Group Management Board and Co-Head of the Investment Banking Division. In 2007 he was voted Banker of the Year by The Bank of England.

In November 2014, at St. James’s Palace in London, Mr. Studzinski received the Prince of Wales Medal for Arts Philanthropy, which complements the Prince of Wales Ambassador Award that in 2000 recognized his philanthropic work with the homeless. Since 2001 he has been Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, a UK-based charitable foundation he established; through partner programs it enables organizations in the fields of theatre, music and visual arts to nurture the careers of outstanding young artists, developing their talents and giving them access to influential mentors and valuable networks.

In the field of the arts he is also Chairman of Create London, which connects artists with communities through an ambitious project program, and is a driving force of the Tate Foundation, which raises and invests money for the Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery.

Also Vice Chair of Human Rights Watch and President of the American Friends of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry – which focuses on challenges facing young people, members of the armed forces, and conservation – he serves on the boards of directors of a number of organizations, including: in the US, Bowdoin College and the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies; in the UK, The Passage Day Centre, American Patrons of Tate, The Royal Parks Foundation and The Royal College of Art. In addition, he is Chairman of The Benjamin Franklin House Museum in London and a member of The Atlantic Council, The Council on Foreign Relations and The Peterson Institute.

John Studzinski holds the Papal honors of Knight of the Order of St. Gregory and Knight Commander of Saint Sylvester and in 2004 was awarded the Beacon Prize for Philanthropy. In 2008, the Queen's New Year’s Honours List named him Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the Arts and Charity.

Sean Klimczak

Foundation President & Member of the Board of Directors

Sean T. Klimczak is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. Klimczak has been involved in the execution of several Blackstone investments, including various Sithe Global investments (including Goreway, Bujagali, GNP Mariveles and SKS), Cheniere Energy Partners, Fisterra, PQ Energy, Utility One Source, Meerwind, Transmission Developers, American Petroleum Tankers and The Weather Channel.

Mr. Klimczak received a B.B.A. in Finance and Business Economics from the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, and an M.B.A. with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with the highest academic standing in his class and was selected as a Baker Scholar, a John L. Loeb Fellow, a Henry Ford II Scholar and a William J. Carey Scholar. Mr.Klimczak serves as a director of Sithe Global, Cheniere Energy Partners, Fisterra, PQ Energy, Utility One Source, Meerwind, Transmission Developers and The Blackstone Charitable Foundation.

Brian Gavin

Foundation Treasurer & Member of the Board of Directors

Brian F. Gavin is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and is Chief Operating Officer of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Before joining Blackstone in 2002, Mr. Gavin was a Partner in Arthur Andersen's Hedge Fund Advisory and Capital Markets group.

Mr. Gavin received a BS in Accounting from New York University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Verdun S. Perry

Member of the Board of Directors

Verdun S. Perry is a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Strategic Partners, Blackstone’s secondary fund of funds business, which it acquired from Credit Suisse in August 2013.

Mr. Perry joined Credit Suisse in November 2000 when it acquired Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (“DLJ”), where he was an Associate in the Investment Banking Division before joining Strategic Partners the year it was founded. Mr. Perry sits on Strategic Partners’ Investment Committees and his current responsibilities include fundraising, deal-sourcing, negotiating and executing secondary transactions and co-investments, as well as various post-purchase fund monitoring activities. Previously, Mr. Perry worked in the strategic investments group at Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon and Eckhardt, Inc. and in the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley & Co.

Mr. Perry received a B.A. from Morehouse College, where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected Phi Beta Kappa, as well as an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he was a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow. Mr. Perry serves on the boards of The Blackstone Charitable Foundation and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO).

John McCormick

Foundation Secretary & Member of the Board of Directors

John McCormick is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and Head of Global Business Strategy for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group.

Mr. McCormick has overall responsibility for BAAM’s global marketing and client services functions. He also works closely with other members of senior management to establish strategic priorities for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group’s business globally and to ensure that those priorities are addressed on an ongoing basis.

Before joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. McCormick was an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company, where he worked with clients in the financial services industry on a wide variety of strategic and operational issues. Before joining McKinsey, Mr. McCormick practiced law in Davis Polk & Wardwell’s investment management group, as Corporate Counsel at Reuters America, and as General Counsel and VP of Business Development for Norbert Technologies. Mr. McCormick also served at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Mr. McCormick received a BA from Vassar College and a JD from Yale Law School.

Bill Stein

Member of the Board of Directors

William Stein is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Asset Management in the Real Estate group.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Stein was a Vice President at Heitman Real Estate Advisors and JMB Realty Corp.

Mr. Stein received a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Robert Friedman

Member of the Board of Directors

Robert L. Friedman is a Senior Advisor of The Blackstone Group L.P.

Mr. Friedman joined Blackstone in 1999 as a Senior Managing Director, working primarily in Blackstone’s Private Equity Group and also participating in the work of its Financial Advisory Group. He served as Chief Legal Officer of the firm from 2003 through 2010, continuing for most of that period to also participate in some of the work of the firm’s Private Equity Group and its Financial Advisory Group. He also served as the firm’s Chief Administrative Officer from 2003 through 2007. In 2012 he retired as a Senior Managing Director and became a Senior Advisor of the firm.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Friedman had been a partner of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett for 25 years, where he was a senior member of that New York City law firm’s mergers and acquisitions practice.

Mr. Friedman has served on 12 different boards of directors of public and private companies over the past 15 years. He currently serves as a director of Axis Capital Holdings Limited and YRC Worldwide Inc. He is also a member of the boards of directors of each of United Way of New York City, Nantucket Land Council and New Alternatives for Children, serving as Chairman of the Board of the latter organization, which conducts a variety of programs for disadvantaged youth in New York City who suffer from physical and mental disabilities.

Mr. Friedman graduated from Columbia College in 1964 and received a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1967.

Donald (Dwight) Scott

Member of the Board of Directors

Donald (Dwight) Scott is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone and Head of GSO Capital Partners’ Energy Practice. Mr. Scott is a member of GSO’s Investment Committee.

He is a member of the Board of Trustees of KIPP, Inc. and the Board of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. Mr. Scott earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

Christine Anderson

Member of the Board of Directors

Christine Anderson is a Senior Managing Director in the Global Public Affairs Group. She is involved in Blackstone's dealings with the press, serving as a firm spokesperson, and advises on government affairs.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2009, Ms. Anderson served as Communications Director to the former Governor of New York. Before becoming Communications Director she served as the Governor's Press Secretary and Director of Marketing and as Communications Director on the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Prior to joining the campaign, Ms. Anderson was an Associate Director of Corporate Communications at UBS AG, supporting US media relations and specifically serving as a spokesperson for the US Wealth Management division of the company. During the 2004 Presidential election cycle, she served as a Deputy Press Secretary on the Kerry-Edwards Campaign. Prior to that Ms. Anderson worked as an Account Director at the Brunswick Group, a UK-based financial public relations firm and as a Segment Producer for ABC News' "Good Morning America." From 1999-2001, Ms. Anderson worked in the Press Office of the Clinton White House.

She received a BA from The College of the Holy Cross. She was a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and currently serves on the Steering Committee of the Blackstone Women’s Network, as well as on the board of The Blackstone Charitable Foundation.

Before joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Skurbe was the CFO for Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust, a $35 billion bank housing several of Merrill Lynch's consumer lending and banking businesses. Prior to that role, Mr. Skurbe spent seven years supporting Merrill Lynch’s Treasury function and had previous roles with Amerada Hess and Arthur Andersen LLP. Mr. Skurbe is also a board member of the Association for Financial Professionals.

Mr. Skurbe received a BS in Accounting from Rutgers University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Paige Ross

Member of the Board of Directors

Paige Ross is a Senior Managing Director and the Global Head of Human Resources at Blackstone.

In this role she oversees human resource management globally for the firm. Ms. Ross brings more than 25 years of experience in talent development and strategic planning across a multitude of industries and geographies.

Prior to joining Blackstone, Ms. Ross served as the Managing Director of Talent Management at Centerbridge Partners, with a focus on leading Talent Management across the portfolio companies. She has also held senior human resources leadership positions at Pfizer, Avon and PepsiCo.

Ms. Ross earned her BA at Stony Brook University and PhD in Applied Organizational Psychology at Hofstra University.

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